Daily Archives: December 30, 2016

Credit Score and your Insurance

Credit Score and your Insurance

Does your credit score affect your insurance rates? As a matter of fact, it does!

Your credit score plays a big role in the price of your insurance. Of course, the higher your score the cheaper your insurance, and the lower your score, the more expensive your insurance will be.

Insurance companies and agencies have many tools available to assist them in the underwriting process. Credit score and history provides a consistent tool to evaluate risk that does not discriminate against any specific group of customers. It helps the customer pay his or her fair share for insurance.

Most companies that use credit information treat it as just one of several factors in the underwriting decision. Generally, your credit rating alone is not likely to keep you from obtaining insurance or paying more, it can help you get insurance.

An NAII survey found that credit histories helped insurers write more policies. Companies said that they are able to accept some customers because the credit report offsets other information. One NAII member found that using credit histories enables it to charge seven percent of its customer’s lower premiums than otherwise would be the case.

So what’s credit got to do with it? A lot! If you have a low credit score, make improving your credit score a goal for the new year.

 

Cut Your Energy Costs

Cut Your Energy Costs

It’s a New Year, and now is the perfect time to cut back on your energy costs. Taking the steps to cut your energy costs will not only save you money, but it will save our resources and the planet.

Here are some tips to help you get started:

  • Make sure your home is sealed during the winter to avoid wasting heat. Close all fireplace dampers, windows, and make sure any cracks are sealed.
  • Cool your home naturally in the summer by opening windows on cool nights.
  • On nice days, hang your laundry out to dry instead of using the dryer.
  • Replace regular incandescent light bulbs and fixtures with Energy Star qualified fluorescent lights.
  • Unplug any appliances or devices that you are not using. Although they are not on, they are still drawing energy.
  • Replace your old refrigerator. Refrigerators made before 1993 could be costing $140 a year in electricity. Even refrigerators built between 1993 and 2001 cost about $60 a year to run. By comparison, a new Energy Star rated refrigerator runs on about $20 a year.
  • Only run your dishwasher when it is completely full to avoid running it multiple times in a day.

Everybody wants a little more money in their pockets. Attempting to save on energy will help you! You could save over $900 a year just by doing the basics. Imagine how much more you could save by finding more ways to save on your energy.